to work and was strongly opposed to the views of Manilal Doctor, who was regarded as the leader of the strikers. Badri Maharaj warned a meeting at Nausori of the danger into which they were being led by agitators. On the following day Fiji Indians were reported to be returning to work. Opponent of poll tax In July 1923 the Fiji Government introduced legislation to provide for an ungraduated poll tax, called the residential tax, of 1 pound to be paid by all non-Fijian adult males between 18 and 60. Badri Maharaj, the nominated Indian member of the Legislative Council, resigned his seat in protest. He did not oppose the tax in principle but argued that it should apply to voters only, not to labourers, who could not afford it. In 1926 the Young Men’s Indian Association asked for an Indian member to be nominated again to the Legislative Council and Badri Maharaj was re-nominated. Supporter of Arya Samaj Badri Maharaj was one of the founding members of the Arya Samaj in Fiji. He contributed generously to its religious and educations programs. His sons continued his work in the Arya Samaj. On 28 August 1956, during the Arya Samaj Golden Jubilee celebrations, he was posthumously awarded with the Dayanand Medal for Meritorious Service. Personal life Maharaj's son Sadanand served as a member of the Legislative Council in the early 1950s. References Bibliography C.F. Andrews and W.W. Pearson, Indian Indentured Labour in Fiji, Perth, 1918 Girmit Diwas 125 years commemorative magazine, 2004 A. Ali, Plantation to Politics, Studies on Fiji Indians, University of the South Pacific, Suva K.L. Gillion, Fiji’s Indian Migrants, a History to the End of the Indenture in 1920, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1962 K.L. Gillion, The Fiji Indians, A Challenge to European Dominance 1920-1946, Australian National University Press, Canberra, 1977 J.D. Kelly, A Politics of Virtue, University of Chicago, Chicago, 1991 1868 births Arya Samaj Indian emigrants to Fiji Indian members of the Legislative Council of Fiji People from Chamoli district Arya Samajis in Fiji Year of death missing People from Rudraprayag district Politicians from Rakiraki